That's right guys, on this Easter Sunday I'm recommending the greater of the Ben-Hur movies, which is the 1925 original silent version starring Ramon Navarro in the title role. It's better than Charlton Heston's because it's over two hours shorter and it's more exciting- I'm not kidding, the action scenes in this silent epic are masterful, and all you can think about while you're watching it is how they managed to film all this in the 1920's. The chariot race is so thrilling it was remade shot for shot in the '59 version, so why not check out the original? And, this was in the days pre-censors, so there's all kinds of nudity and violent shots you probably never thought you'd see in silent film, like someone's head getting cut off and attached to a spear as a weapon (reports are that some of the extras actually drowned for real in the chaotic pirate attack sequence). Give it a chance at least- as one of the greatest and most influential epics ever made, it deserves to be given that much.
Original 1925 Trailer:
